Youth organizers across the country are creating a brand new playbook of strategies and tactics in 2024 to build civic power: four trailblazers will be in an conversation with funders in small groups, providing you with an insider's look at how they're changing advocacy strategies and tactics amid a changing landscape. This Schott Foundation briefing, created in partnership with Seek Common Ground, will show how you can support youth advocacy in its pivotal role in building and safeguarding a multi-racial democracy. In an era when the voices of young people are more critical than ever, young people will show the ways your support can advance their movements and success.

The Cornerstone Project held a soft launch on February 29th, 2024, co-hosted by Education Civil Rights Now, The Open System Institute, and Seek Common Ground. This meeting was an opportunity to learn about how we can improve our democracy infrastructure in education, hearing from leaders nationwide on the urgency of this moment for both education and democracy. We shared insights from a recent survey from nearly 60 organizations in 22 states and explore current work at the nexus of democracy and education. There were also opportunities to network with like-minded leaders.

Dr. Landon Mascareñaz, Co-Founder of The Open System Institute and co-author of The Open System: Redesigning Education and Reigniting Democracy from Harvard Education Press, led a panel discussion with leaders from the SCG Leadership Collaboration Network with an introduction from Sandy Boyd, CEO and Co-Founder at Seek Common Ground (SCG).

The panel was made up of SCG Leadership Collaboration Network members Kit Anderson (CivicLex), Morgan Craven (Intercultural Development Research Association), and Sanford Johnson (Teach Plus - Mississippi).

Seek Common Ground held a conversation during Pride Month 2023 with national LGBTQ+ student change-makers who are on the front lines of fighting and organizing for LGBTQ+ rights and lasting, equitable change in our education systems and beyond.

Claudia Quintero, Seek Common Ground Senior Directo and Co-Founder sat down with Dr. Stephany Cuevas, Assistant Professor at the Attallah College of Educational Studies at Chapman University who shared insights and research around: - the role schools, districts, and community organizations play in supporting immigrant families; how educators can engage with immigrant families to support students’ learning and socioemotional well-being; and how schools and community organizations can actively show solidarity with immigrant families.

Members of Seek Common Ground's inaugural Leadership Collaboration Network convened from Feb. 13th - 16th, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona at the Helios Education Campus. Over three impactful days, leaders from across the United States came together to learn about open systems approaches to leadership and community, participate in democracy-building simulations, and build community.

Tom Picasso, Seek Common Ground (SCG) Networks Manager sat down with leaders from the Ohio Whole Child Action Accelerator who shared the strategies and practices they use to tell the stories of their organizations. The panel discussed audiences they have cultivated and are continuing to reach as well as key lessons they’ve learned along the way. The panel discussion includes Q&A with our live audience, as well as personal stories from the participants on how heroes in their lives have impacted their work today.

Sandy Boyd, CEO at Seek Common Ground, sat down for a TALK led by Kit Anderson, Operations Director at CivicLex (Lexington, KY), Zakiyah Ansari, Advocacy Director & New York City Director at the Alliance for Quality Education, Shirley Brandman, Advisor at the Black & Brown Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence (Montgomery County, MD), and Sanford Johnson, Executive Director at Teach Plus-Mississippi.

Recorded on December 14th, 2022

Daniela DiGiacomo, Assistant Professor, University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information, and Joel Daniel Harris, Executive Dreamer at TomTod Ideas sat down with Seek Common Ground's Chief Common Ground Officer Michael Gilligan to discuss the deficit frame of current research & evaluation practices, how they’ve moved to a more strengths-based approach and recommendations for how to integrate research & evaluation into the work of organizations, especially programs conducting out of school time programming. Rachel Belin, the Managing Partner at the Kentucky Student Voice Team, joined as a discussant to reflect, offer insights, and pose new questions to the group.

Recorded November 17th, 2022

Seek Common Ground Networks Manager Tom Picasso joined Nicole Kennedy, Wellness Consultant and Certified Forest Therapy Guide at Hopewell Health Centers in Southeast Ohio, and Mary Macias, President, CEO, and Co-Founder of Footpath Foundation in Cleveland, to talk about new understandings, and research, on the importance of experiencing nature as well as the benefits of nature for academic development, social connection, and mental health. Sandy Boyd, CEO at Seek Common Ground, joined the conversation as a discussant to reflect and ask questions of Mary and Nicole about their innovative approaches to nature-based wellness practices.
Recorded: November 1, 2022

Seek Common Ground's Networks Manager Tom Picasso sat down with Jo Jo Carcioppolo, Executive Director and Founder of Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio, and Chris Anderson, Executive Director and Founder of Open Tone Music, to facilitate a discussion on: - What’s currently happening in arts education: why adults should rethink their assumptions; - How innovative arts practices complement and enhance students’ academic development; and - The importance and benefits of incorporating the arts in the traditional school day

Recorded on October 25th, 2022.

Learn more:

Dancing Classrooms Northeast Ohio: http://dancingclassroomsneo.org/

Open Tone Music: https://www.opentonemusic.org/

Seek Common Ground Senior Director, Claudia Quintero sat down with Misty Cole, Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health Cross Systems Integration Manager at Hopewell Health Centers in Southeast Ohio, and Sanford Johnson, Executive Director at Teach Plus Mississippi to talk about the mental health challenges faced in rural communities today. Misty and Sanford shared how educators and healthcare providers can collaborate to serve students, educators, and the overall community, as well as funding and policy considerations for mental health services in rural America.

Recorded on October 11th, 2022

Seek Common Ground (SCG) Program Analyst and Research Coordinator Lydia Burns sat down with members of SCG's Student Action Network for Equity to talk about how students are organizing against classroom censorship and for educational equity. Panelists included high school junior, Mira Ugwuadu (Wheeler Name Change), high school senior, Tala Saad (Kentucky Student Voice Team), and University of Georgia sophomore, Julian Fortuna (Georgia Youth Justice Coalition).

Educator and Seek Common Ground Advisory Board Member Nate Bowling sat down with Dan Vallone, the U.S. director of More in Common to talk about their American Identity Research Project. The project draws from a survey conducted among 2500 Americans in May and June of 2022, and explores key narratives that Americans identify both in their own family history and in the shared American history. The discussion breaks down some of the project's findings and what it can tell us about differing and surprisingly common perspectives in America.

Learn more about:

More in Common: https://www.moreincommon.com/

Nate Bowling: https://www.natebowling.com/

Dan Vallone: https://www.moreincommon.com/about-us...

Seek Common Ground: https://seekcommonground.org/